About The Black Cultural Festival

THE MISSION

The mission of the Black Cultural Festival is to cultivate a healthy and connected Black community in Eugene and beyond by creating welcoming spaces that attract Black people, while also centering and celebrating our culture.

THE GOALS

The goals of the Black Cultural Festival are:

To hold an annual event.
To direct marketing and outreach to only the Black Community.
That 90% of folks attending are Black people; family and friends of all races are welcome to attend.
To highlight our culture with food, entertainment, and speakers.
To create an educational space of our local cultural history.
To build strong networks in the Black community.
To feature Black-owned businesses and other professional organizations that serve Black people.

THE VISION

The vision of the Black Cultural Festival is:

To provide a seed for the creation of a healthy and cohesive local Black community.
To create a space of healing, inclusion and belonging for Black folks.
To aid in the formation of healthy Black identity in children and adults.
To engage grassroots activists and change-makers.
To inspire creativity and participation in the arts.
To support the development and growth of businesses and entrepreneurship.
To increase retention of Black individuals in our local community.

THE STORY

Event producer Talicia Brown-Crowell has lived in the Eugene area since 2000. While growing her Black woman-owned business and creating a family, she became very connected to the festival culture for which Oregon is nationally recognized, including the Oregon Country Fair, Beloved Festival, Willamette Valley Folk Festival, and String Cheese Incident — all of which celebrate community.

Talicia enjoyed these festivals with wild abandon, but that easeful play eroded as she began to see how white these festivals were — there was no diversity. These were places white people could feel comfortable, but not her own people.

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“I AM ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT MY JOB AS PRODUCER, AND ALL OF THE JOBS OF MY PRODUCTION TEAM, COULD BE DONE AS WELL AS, IF NOT BETTER THAN, BY BLACK PEOPLE.”

~Elliot Rasenick, Producer of Beloved Festival

THE TEAM

FOUNDER | PRODUCER | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BLACK CULTURAL INITIATIVE

Talicia Brown-Crowell grew up in San Jose, California. In 1992, Talicia came to Oregon to attend Reed College in Portland, then moved to Eugene in 2000. For 20 years, Talicia has worked in public health, staffed rites-of-passage for Black folks in Memphis and built her successful Black-owned business, Harmony Massage, in Eugene. Her work is inspired by the mentorship of two dearly beloved people in her life. Her best friend of 17 years, Bob Dritz, was the clinic coordinator of White Bird Clinic in Eugene for 25 years and the founder of CAHOOTS. Sobonfu Somé, Talicia’s spiritual teacher for 8 years, is known as the world’s foremost authority in African spirituality. After years of attending predominately white music festivals, then getting to experience Black-centered cultural spaces and Brown family reunions in Gurdon, Arkansas, Talicia developed a deep desire to create safe and connected events that center around Blackness. The question she continually asks herself is: “What would a cultural festival look like today, in this place, that centers Black people, and is for us, by us?” The Black Cultural Festival is her answer to that question.

“When I dare to be powerful–to use my strength in the service of my vision–then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” ~Audre Lorde

BOOKING & STAGE MANAGER, STREET TEAM OUTREACH COORDINATOR

Treylon Day, owner and founder of DayintheLife Entertainment LLC, is an event-planner, promoter, talent-scout, artist-manager, stage-manager and entertainment-coordinator. Treylon is dedicated to helping local artists in their communities and has a strong background in entrepreneurship, communications and team leadership. Treylon operates a for-profit organization that’s always seeking community members who want to contribute to the business and collectively influence the artistry of people’s talents.

YOUTH ZONE COORDINATOR

NYAH ROSS

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Ana Elizabeth is an event producer and production specialist. Ana was captivated by arts and culture as a child, and her love of arts and culture has led to countless community collaborations resulting in highly anticipated annual events. Past productions include the Calabash Awards, Cabrillo Stage, The 418 Project, Santa Cruz Ethnic Arts Network, Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, Center for Sacred Studies, Santa Cruz Juneteenth, Beloved, Afribbean Festival, Second Harvest Food Bank, City of Santa Cruz, NAACP, UCSC special events and the Mississippi John Hurt Festival with Taj Mahal. Currently, Ana is a senior partner at SureThing Productions, Artist Relations Manager of the California Roots Festival, co-producer/program director of Santa Cruz Juneteenth and a board member and chair of the Equity Council of the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County in California.

VENDOR COORDINATOR

Jhonelle Lewis is a Eugene resident who is originally from California but loved Oregon’s nature and wanted to be close to family. She’s a local real estate agent and also part owner of a local party rental business, “We Reign Parties.” She enjoys her work and feels lucky because her work never real feels like work. Jhonelle has two children who are her pride and joy. She loves spending time with family and exploring Oregon. She’s honored to be part of the Black Cultural Festival, serving as our vendor coordinator, and loves seeing everything fall into place.

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

We are so grateful that the Black Cultural Festival is supported by a community of individuals and professionals! Get to know our advisory committee.

KOKAYI NOSAKHERE

Black Scholar | Author | Public Speaker | Community Activist

LELA & NIYAH ROSS

H.O.N.E.Y. Nonprofit Fiscal Sponsor

MARK HARRIS

Black Scholar | Professor

DR. LAWRENCE RASHEED

Lane Community College Faculty | Black Student Union Advisor

KEVIN SUMMERFIELD

Youth Zone Co-Coordinator | Churchill High School History Teacher | City Of Eugene

AYISHA ELLIOTT

MC | Black Scholar | Black Girl From Eugene Podcast

ERIC RICHARDSON

Former President Eugene Springfield NAACP

JOSHUA STROUD

American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) | Owner & Financial Planner Reign Wealth Logic

MAISIE DAVIS

Youth Zone Co-Coordinator | Disabilities Advocacy

KENYA LUVERT

Black Scholar

DALLAS BOGGS

Chair Eugene Police Commission | Vice President Oregon Alliance of Black Businesses

JHONELLE LEWIS

Vendor Services Coordinator | Real Estate Broker | Owner We Reign Parties

DR. SILKY BOOKER

President Oregon Alliance of Black Businesses | State Commissioner Oregon Commission on Black Affairs | Radio Personality | MC | Philanthropist

MATRISHA ARMITAGE

Bookkeeper Armitage Solutions | Executive Director MEEPA, Grrrlz Rock & Kids Rock

SIOBHAN CANCEL

Siobhan Solutions

AISHA LUVURT

Volunteer Coordinator

APRIL KAY WILLIAMS

Box Office Manager

IRENE RASHEED

Sponsorship Coordinator & Museum Without Walls Curator

“Healing isn’t fully healing if it doesn’t in some way connect the individual to the community.”

~Susan Raffo

“The power of the white world is threatened whenever a black man refuses to accept the white world’s definitions.”

~James Baldwin

“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.”

~Wilma Rudolph

“I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.”

~June Jordan

“Sometimes you have to raise a little hell to get some heaven.”

~Joe Madison

“To sit back and do nothing is to cooperate with the oppressor.”

~Jane Elliott

“You need not carry the heavy, hollow burden of racism any longer.”

~Jesse Williams

“Healing must be collective.”

~William Oliver

“I love my people. And I love all people.”

~Black Elder

“In the world you know, there’s a million boys and girls who are young, gifted and black, and that’s a fact.”

~a Nina Simone song, from Lorraine Hansberry’s play

“Give light, and people will find the way.”

~Ella Baker

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free”

~Fannie Lou Hamer

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I love being Black! Racism and white supremacy is what it is. I still love being Black.”

~Kokayi Nosakhere

“Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you.”

~Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah

“Healing is not just about what we experience in the present, it’s also about how we understand the past, how we name our histories and frame the times in which we live.”

~Susan Raffo

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

~Malcolm X

“Healing is a practice. It’s not a one-time thing.”

~Marnita Schroedl

“Turn your wound into wisdom.”

~Oprah Winfrey

“When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision — then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

~Audre Lorde

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

~Rosa Parks